Small elongated objects, usually referred to as nanowires, nanorods, nanowhiskers, etc. and typically comprising semiconductor materials, have up till now been synthesized using one of the following routes:                liquid phase synthesis, for example by means of colloidal chemistry as exemplified US 2005/0054004 by Alivisatos et al,        epitaxial growth from substrates, with or without catalytic particles as exemplified by the work of Samuelson et al presented in WO 2004/004927 and WO 2007/10781, respectively, or        gas phase synthesis by means of a laser assisted catalytic growth process as exemplified by WO 2004/038767 A2 by Lieber et al.The properties of wires obtained using these routes are compared in the following table.        
Scalability/MaterialWidth/lengthStructuralcost ofqualityand size controlcomplexityproductionLiquid phaseHighThin/shortLOWHigh/HighMedium controlSubstrate-basedHighAll/AllHIGHLow/HighHigh controlLaser assistedMediumThin/longLOWMedium/Medium controlMedium
Consequently, the choice of synthesis route is a compromise between different wire properties and the cost of production. For example, substrate-based synthesis provides advantageous wire properties. However, since wires are formed in batches, the scalability of the process, and thus the production cost and throughput, are limited.